Star Wars VII is being shot in IMAX format

Brilliant news has surface from the set of Star Wars VII – it's being filmed using IMAX cameras.

The news appeared with the above photo, of what looks like a desert being shot as Tatooine, tweeted by @bad_robot.

It isn't clear if the entire film is being shot in IMAX format or if this camera is just being used for landscape shots such as this. IMAX offers dual 4K recording to total an 8K effective image. It was used for parts of Dark Knight, for example, where shots of the sweeping city were shown in 4K for extra detail.

The latest Transformers film was shot using the new IMAX 3D cameras which are mobile mobile than previous options. Previously it meant carefully rigging up two IMAX cameras side by side.

It's unclear what is being used on the Star Wars VII set but it looks like we can hope for 4K and true 3D for the next adventure in outer space.